Post your non-O scale stuff here!
Hi Guys, well got a bit done this mornin then another bit this evening. Nearly have the track-bed timbers into what will be the station area in front of the kitchen/diner window..... lookin forward to the view of the trains coming and goin at the window , will make the effort all worth while !
Looking good, but don't hurt yourself again. Lot's of work there. Bending all the time is very hard on our bodies if we aren't careful.
havr lots of fun!
Hi George, too late....I'm still fallin to bits...lol
..... its an effort to get the old creakin body parts to move of a mornin these days ,they ain't kiddin when they say age doesn't come itself 
.... but hey ho.... upwards and onwards.... no pain no gain.... 
Hi again George what was that you were sayin about not hurtin myself again??..... ...here's todays right hand.... cut on the middle finger and a later wound where I stabbed myself with a bit of broken timber between my thumb and first finger.... lol
....
Hi Guys, well after a couple of (painfull..ouch) boring days burning rubbish, demolishing and muck shiftin I'm back on the rail route today .As you can see I'm round the curve and onto the straight in front of the kitchen window. Hoping to squeeze a station in there but because the retaining wall narrows on that section it might be toght to get much in the way of platforms and sidings in so it may well yet just be a central simple platform between the two mianline tracks,we'll see.
This next picture hopefully kinda will give you a picture of where I'm goin with the part of the garden forward of the kitchen window. The grassed area still in place will be lifted and that area filled with rubble then a new patio built .A new lawn the base of which you can see under construction just forward of that remaining still to be demolished bit of old wall will be forward of the patio,then where the parts of the swing seat etc., are sittin right now is where the new pond will be. Solookin out the window it will be ,trains, sun patio,lawn and a sloping pebble "beach" down into the pond with a decent sized waterfall smack centre., however a lot of work before I'm anywhere near that stage. Anyway after a crappy summer we've finally had some really nice weather the last wee while so I better get back out and get on with it !!
Hi Guys,not much to report on the railway side of things but a whole load of other work has been in progress. Since I last posted I have moved my next door neighbours old front lawn turfs and soil into my back garden and have also lifted most of the small lawn I had . This material will be getting used as bottoming for the new lawns I intend to lay. All stockpiled for now. Been filling in the old lawn area with demolition rubble from other parts of the garden and am now starting to cover this with "type1 hardcore" as we call it here. (Type of crushed rock). Once I get that complete I'll be laying a new patio. As you can see I have started to build a curve with sandstone,this isn't for trains this will be a stone built bed for plants and shrubs running up the garden to split it into two pretty much seperate areas. The trains will go straight across to the right . Kinda hard to explain but all shall be revealed as work progresses.Anyway,thats where I'm at for now.Luckily the weather is being quite kind so things are advancing slow but steady.
Davy, incredible stone mason and yard work. I am getting sore just looking at the pictures!
Hi George, believe me am gettin sore doin it ...lol .... 5.24 pm and have downed tools for the day,had a shower and already in my snooze pit. Dying to get trains running but I think it will will be into next spring before I get to that stage .Trying to get as much done with the landscaping before the frosts arrive
Oh well.., decided to have a go at demolishing the old formation before I had my dinner.... got horsed into it with the big hammer and the pinch,once I got a start made it broke up quite nicely ,managed to salvage a lot of the sandstone too. So thats all for today.... 
Hi Guys a bit more progress, in these pics., the long straight secion along the house is almost up to height to take the track-bed. The other sandstone work will come up to the same height and will be a flower/shrub bed and will be the front part of the shrub bed which will divid the garden in two from front to rear. Kinda hard to explain but ,you'll get the picture as the work progresses....
Hi Guys, been busy with other things the last coupleof days but got a bit more track-bed done.Had to form a slew to get the track alignment central on the next section, this will let me get two passing loops along the next section on the straight.
A bit more progress. Some wet weather and earning a living have got in the way of progress a bit the lastf ew days however still advancing. Where the new concrete block ends will be the new access to the whole garden so a lifting section of track will be require to bridge the gap as and when. As you can see the track base timbers are widened to take a double track main with passing loops .
Hey Davy,
Do you have a basic track plan in mind? Looks good! I need a cold drink just looking at your heavy duty landscaping and lifting!
Hi George, no track plan per se other than the intention to lay a double track main all the way round.I had intended to put a station where the passing loops are but space dictated otherwise. However theres another couple of potential locations for stations. I got on well today with some stonebuilding work but never got photos. I'll post some tomorrow. We're now having superb weather here and its to last a while so I'll keep pushing on as much as possible before it breaks.
Hi Guys, working on the planter/garden divide today and yesterday. Not quite finished. The big boulders in the middle are resting on old blocks and rubble. Doesn't look all that impressive at the moment but once its filled with soil planted out and dressed it should look the part. I intend to plant thyme and the like adjacent to the rail tracks but on the other sides trailing plants. End of this season so it will be next year before the finished effect is seen.
Hi GUys well,amazing beautifull weather here,can't believe its October.Anyway,put in a great shift today about 10AM till now 7.45PM. Got a huge chucnk of patio laid and the planter-cum-garden divider section filled with soil and topped off with ornamental fine gravel. It can sit like this till next planting season apart from some Narcissus and crocus bulbs I'll probably put in next week. We'll see. Anyway,I'm goosed,so I'll let the pictures do the talkin. These are my old reclaimed paving slabs Ive used,incidentally laid in a bed of about 2" to 3"wet cement. I'll hit them with some chemical cleaner and the powerwasher and they should come up fine. Still a bit to go with the patio but at least thats a decent start.
Davy, opposite here in New England USA no rain to speak of.
Hi George, its been excellent here most of September ,tomorrow is supposed to be a lot better. Just workin between showers right now. Track laying is advancing slow but sure !
Hi George,yip,track is pinned to the timbers and levelled as much as possible .loose ballast is then spread over the lot and brushed into place. In some places where the timbers have settled uneven in the cement you can get dips and tilts. the fixing pins in such cases don't need to be hammered all the way home ,just enough to hold the track in position and any dips or unevenness under the track can be packed to level with the ballast ,pretty much as per the real thing. supposed to be dry tomorrow. I'll post pics of exactly how I go about laying the track for you.
Dave, this whole thread has been a joy to follow, I tip my hat to you mate, not only the hard work you've been doing but your skill and planning is brilliant.
I will join you with a single on your completion by the rate you are going in the not to distant future.
cheers and thanks for sharing.
Cheers Airedale, just keepin my fingers crossed that rain and hard frost stay away for a few weeks yet. I'm making progress but still a helluva work to be done yet,..... however every bit I get done now is a bit less come the spring,hoping to at least have the bulk of the landscaping's back broken by then....if it doesn't break mine first .... ha ha. The moral support is appreciated
Davy, Great work on a one of a kind layout. I like your method of planning in your head and building as you go. I was born and raised here in the U.S. but my family originated in Orkney. My clan name is Sinclair. I must ask what part of Scotland are you from?
Thomas
hi thomas, thanks for the thumbs up. I live in the central belt just oustside Glasgow, however my ancestry is from all corners of Scotland ,Highland and Lowland alike..... a son of many clans .
Hi Guys, well ,almost finished the right hand curve build. This will be the tightest curve on the whole layout . There will be a lifting section across the gap in the second photo ,thats the main entrance to the garden. A lifting bridge would be nice but don't know if my engineering skills are precise enough....we'll see !.
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with murder on ma mind.... had a good laugh at them....
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.so thats all for now folks 
